🔢WEB · Numbers 24:20
What does Numbers 24:20 mean?
"He looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, But his latter end shall come to destruction.”"
— Numbers 24:20 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
I see him, but not now. I see him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel, and shall strike through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of Sheth.
Edom shall be a possession. Seir, his enemies, also shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly.
Out of Jacob shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city.”
He looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, But his latter end shall come to destruction.”
He looked at the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, “Your dwelling place is strong. Your nest is set in the rock.
Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted, until Asshur carries you away captive.”
He took up his parable, and said, “Alas, who shall live when God does this?
Explanation
Numbers 24:20 records one of several short oracles Balaam pronounced while looking out over different peoples from the heights of Moab. In plain language, Balaam looks toward the land or people of Amalek and declares that although Amalek was once prominent — "the first of the nations" — its future holds not greatness but ruin. It is a prophecy of decline and eventual destruction for a nation that at the time seemed established and formidable.
The context is essential to understanding the verse. Balaam was a non-Israelite prophet or diviner hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Israelites as they journeyed toward the Promised Land. Instead, God repeatedly turned Balaam's intended curses into blessings for Israel and, in this final series of oracles (Numbers 23–24), had him pronounce judgments on Israel's enemies instead. Amalek was a nation descended
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